“It was my Christmas party and he told me I wasn't allowed go to it. I had to go, I organised it and had promised everyone I would be there. He warned me I would be punished if I disobeyed him but I didn't want to let anyone down. I waited until he left the house, and then I went. I had a horrible nervous feeling all night but I tried to enjoy myself. When I came home, he was standing in the kitchen with this smug smile on his face. I knew he had done something but couldn't imagine what. My son called me upstairs and said 'Dad's after burning all your things.'

"I do not think I would have got through the past two years without the support from Women’s Aid and I know I it will get me through the difficult times still ahead.” - Louise

The Women's Aid 24hr National Freephone Helpline 1800 341 900 is a service for women experiencing emotional, physical, sexual and financial abuse by a current or former husband, partner or boyfriend. We are also available for family, friends and professionals concerned about women living with domestic violence.

The women we support are diverse and come from all walks of life. Domestic violence can affect any woman, at any age and from any background. Today we look at the additional barriers women from Migrant communities face.

339 callers to the National Freephone Helpline in 2014 identified that they were Migrant women and 27% of the new women we saw in 2015 in our One to One Service were migrant women.

Just over half were from other EU member states while 47% were from non EU countries.

Today we share a blog post by the team at the Immigrant Council of Ireland about their work with women experiencing domestic violence.

Excited, nervous, looking forward to new experiences.

Alone, scared, unsure what the future holds. Trapped.

Moving to a new country should be a positive experience; settling in, making new friends and getting on your feet. For some migrant women, this is sadly not the case.

Nobody should have to experience is the panic and fear of domestic violence, particularly when you don’t know who to turn to. When your possible support is in another country, on another continent, along with all your friends and old neighbours. Alone, with an abusive partner.

On Day 13 we share this very powerful and thoughtful personal account of abuse and survival by Avril D'Arcy who is using her own name.

"As a survivor of intimate partner abuse, people have often asked me some infuriating questions. Most commonly: ‘Why didn’t I leave?’ and ‘Why didn’t I tell anyone?’ However, when I did try to explain, many didn’t want to listen.

The women we support are diverse and come from all walks of life. Domestic violence can affect any woman, at any age and from any background. Today we look at the additional barriers women from Migrant communities face.

323 callers to the National Freephone Helpline in 2014 identified that they were Migrant women and 32% of the new women we saw in 2014 in our One to One Service were migrant women.

Just over half were from other EU member states while 46% were from non EU countries.